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Rent and Bond Tracker: Keep Records of Every Payment and Get Your Bond Back

When a rental dispute happens, the person with the best records usually wins. A rent and bond tracker is a simple log of every rent payment, your bond details, your lease dates and any repairs or inspections. It takes a minute each payday and can save you hundreds of dollars, plus a lot of stress, when you move out.

What to record for rent

• Date paid, amount, and how you paid (direct debit, BPAY, app).
• The period it covers, so you can prove you're paid up to a date.
• Any rent increase notices, with the date received and the new amount.
• Receipts or bank references for every payment.

In Australia, rent is often charged weekly but many people are paid fortnightly. Line the two up: record rent per fortnight in your budget so a short week never surprises you.

What to record for your bond

Bonds are lodged with a government body or authority in each state, not kept by the landlord. For example, NSW uses Rental Bonds Online through NSW Fair Trading, Victoria uses the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, and Queensland uses the Residential Tenancies Authority. Record your bond amount, the date paid, the lodgement number and the authority. If you haven't received confirmation that your bond was lodged, follow it up.

Protecting your bond at the end of a lease

The entry condition report is your most important document. Keep a copy, add your own dated photos when you move in, and note anything you disagree with. When you leave, take photos of every room in the same spots. Keep a log of repair requests and responses during the tenancy. If there's a disagreement over deductions, these records are what a tribunal will look at.

Moving costs to budget for

A move often means paying a new bond and rent in advance before the old bond is returned. Budget for that overlap, plus removalists or van hire, connection fees for power and internet, and cleaning. Seeing the full number ahead of time helps you decide when to give notice.

Rules differ between states and change over time, so check your state's tenancy authority for current rules on bond limits, rent increases and refunds.

Worked example

Here's a worked example. Tom rents a unit in Brisbane at $520 a week and is paid fortnightly. In his tracker he records rent as $1,040 a fortnight, paid by direct debit every second Thursday, along with his bond amount, the Residential Tenancies Authority lodgement number and the lease end date. Each payday he ticks off the payment and notes the period it covers. Six months in, a rent increase notice arrives, and he logs the date received and the new amount, which helps him check that the notice period and timing match his state's rules. When his kitchen tap starts leaking, he logs the date of his repair request and the agent's reply. At the end of the lease, the agent suggests a deduction for a mark on the carpet. Tom's entry photos show the mark was already there, so the deduction is dropped. A few minutes of record-keeping saved him an argument and money.

How to do it: step by step

1. Enter your lease start and end dates, rent amount and frequency.
2. Record your bond amount, the date paid, the lodgement number and the state authority.
3. Log each rent payment with its date, amount and period covered.
4. Save dated photos and your entry condition report alongside the tracker.
5. Before moving, budget the overlap of new bond, rent in advance and moving costs.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not financial or tax advice.